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From sex and drugs to violence, gambling, and wholesale conspiracies, scandals are everywhere in sports. Each of these problems is its own issue, and every case is separate, but taken as a whole this criminal pathology is indicative of a widespread problem with athletes and responsibility. In this wide-ranging and deep-seeking investigation, psychologist Stanley H. Teitelbaum asks why elite athletes take enormous risks with their lives and careers. Teitelbaum analyzes and diagnoses this culturally resonant set of problems with an honest, critical eye, looking at everything from baseball's steroid abusers to gambling scandals in the NBA to the steady stream of athletes arrested for domestic violence to the murder trials of O.J. Simpson and wrestler Chris Benoit. A concluding chapter holds sports commissioners and others to task for hiding behind a faЌade of ignorance and duplicitous na•vet? in attempting to cover up or defuse brewing scandals.
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Athletes Who Indulge Their Dark Side
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Athletes Who Indulge Their Dark Side Sex, Drugs, and Cover-Ups Stanley H. Teitelbaum
PRAEGER An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
Copyright 2010 by Stanley Teitelbaum All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Teitelbaum, Stanley H. Athletes who indulge their dark side : sex, drugs, and cover-ups / Stanley H. Teitelbaum. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-313-37756-3 (hard copy : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-313-37757-0 (ebook) 1. Athletes—Psychology. 2. Athletes—Drug use. 3. Athletes—Sexual behavior. 4. Doping in sports. 5. Compulsive behavior. I. Title. GV706.4.T42 2010 7960 .01—dc22 2009035331 ISBN: 978-0-313-37756-3 E-ISBN: 978-0-313-37757-0 13
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This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook. Visit www.abc-clio.com for details. Praeger An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America
To Jake, Max, Zoey, Will, and Ben—my personal dream team.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
ix
Introduction
xi
1
The Steroids Scandal
1
2
The Dangers of Invincibility
39
3
Recent Gambling Scandals
67
4
Athletes Who Flirt with Disaster
85
5
Women Involved in Sports Scandals
107
6
Murder Scandals
125
7
Cover-Ups
139
Epilogue
163
Notes
165
Index
171
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who have contributed to my thinking, organizing, and shaping of this book. Most of all I am forever appreciative to Leighsa King for providing the support, endless availability, sensitivity, and knowledge in facilitating the flow of the work. I am grateful to Bill Minor, Marc Steger, Sue Macy, Debbie Goldbergh, and Cindy Sabella for helping me to navigate the process and for connecting me to key resources necessary to bring this book to fruition. A big thank you goes to Lawrence Teitelbaum for his guidance and special input, and the support of family members Martin Cohen, John King, and Diane Teitelbaum. I was inspired by the creative id